Jamming

This past couple of months has been a very busy time for me. I traveled to Italy, sold my house, moved into an apartment, had visitors for 3 weeks, bought a new car and played 4 gigs. I’ve also been socializing a LOT. I am enjoying downtown apartment life, but it is a challenge for my creativity and for my waistline. I have been out for dinner or drinks nearly every night in the past 2 months.

What happened to my creativity? Maybe it is still packed from the move, in a box somewhere, on a shelf, in the back of the closet, in the dark. I find it so hard to be creative when I’m tied to my “To Do List”. Creating art and music for me come more from a dreamy, emotional state. It doesn’t come naturally for me to be “disciplined” and scheduled about creating, but I have been reading and researching that lately. The blogs and books I have been reading about creativity suggest that to make art I must actually make myself develop an art habit. Schedule time. Put it on the calendar. Plan the project. Get out supplies. Make a proper space in which to work. Not unlike my training for the Half Marathon (see earlier post.)

It is a lot like getting together to jam. You just bring your stuff, plug in and see what happens. Sometimes you have a song planned, sometimes you don’t. You just play. You make the appointment and just show up. Sometimes there are magical moments, sometimes it’s crap, but it’s nearly always useful or at least fun.

I suppose this is how it is as an adult living in our time. We have so many distractions. Work, family, love-life, friends, cooking, commuting, laundry, Netflix, iPads and iPhones, exercise, walking the dog, complaining about the news, investing our money, doctor appointments, Netflix, reading the car manual, pacing in the house shouting expletives (just me?), choosing the right insurance, Netflix, making a will, flipping through magazines and Netflix – it all competes for space and energy. Did I mention Netflix?

So, last night, after work, exercising, walking the dog and cooking dinner, I pulled out my easel. I wasn’t feeling terribly creative at first, so I decided to rework an old painting that I wasn’t happy with.